Research into green, sustainable chemistry attracts greater international interest

Over the past four years, the IVL-led research programme Mistra SafeChem has made great progress in reducing exposure to substances hazardous to humans and the environment. The second phase of the programme is now under way, generating increased international interest.

The vision of Mistra SafeChem is to enable and promote the development of a safe, sustainable and green chemical industry.

"We work in a global industry, and now even more internationally. This is evident not least in the industrial partners involved in Mistra SafeChem", says John Munthe, Programme Manager at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.

Industry partners include AstraZeneca, BASF, Cambrex, EnginZyme, Merck, Nouryon, Perstorp Innovation, LigniCore and Stockholm Vatten och Avfall.

Global science and technology company Merck Life Science is supporting the programme by engaging its broad cross-functional expertise. They expect the Mistra SafeChem partnership to play a crucial role in shaping their own strategy to identify safer and more sustainable chemicals, in line with the EU Chemicals Strategy.

"Within the Mistra SafeChem consortium, we can work with leading research partners to predict the properties and adverse effects of chemicals, as well as with life cycle analyses and process simulation. We can share valuable experience with industrial and academic partners and engage in meaningful dialogue with regulators", says Michael Siebold, Head of Hazard Communication and Chemicals Regulations at Merck.

Nearly 40 tools developed

Mistra SafeChem was launched based on the twelve principles of green chemistry, which aim to design chemical compounds and processes so as to minimize their negative impact on the environment and health. This continues in phase two but with a clearer focus on the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) concept developed by the EU's Joint Research Centre (JRC) in dialogue with researchers, industry and public authorities.

In its first phase, the programme launched a toolbox with the collective results of four years of research. It contains nearly 40 different methods and processes that can be used in the further development of new chemicals, materials and products.

Case studies on sustainable processes

In phase two, five multidisciplinary case studies will develop new processes for selected chemicals and materials, including by using and improving the tools developed in phase one. The aim is to present processes and products that can be assessed against the safe and sustainable design guidelines embodied in the SSbD.

Michael Siebold expects the case studies to lead to a pragmatic and correct implementation of the SSbD framework in innovation processes:

"Practical solutions and insights from the case studies will help to identify safer and more sustainable chemicals. At the same time, the sustainability assessment of more complex molecules will be improved by utilizing more advanced computer-based tools."

For more information, contact:
John Munthe, john.munthe@ivl.se, tel. +46 (0)10-788 68 06

The research partners in Mistra SafeChem are IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, RISE, Stockholm University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Uppsala University. The first phase of the programme started in 2020, and the second will run from 2024 to 2028. It is funded by Mistra (the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research) with SEK 70 million over four years. The programme partners are contributing SEK 30 million. Read more about Mistra SafeChem on the programme website External link, opens in new window..